Places that Rock: Klavon’s / Vinnie’s / The Masonry / Aldo’s

Klavon’s Pizzeria & Pub

Klavon’s is known for its Chicago-style stuffed pizza with a Michigan twist. Five toppings and a pound mozzarella are stuffed between two layers of house-made dough and covered with a tomato sauce. Its specialty pizza menu features 14 hand-tossed pizzas, including the Ragin Cajun Chicken with hot sauce, mozzarella, cheddar and bacon on a Cajun crust. Klavon’s offers nearly a dozen appetizers like its bacon cheese bread and pepperoni pinwheels. The pizzeria has become a Michigan destination for its pizza and upscale sports bar setting with 31 televisions, including personal booth-mounted TVs.

Vinnie’s Pizzeria

This two-unit pizza company “keeps it real,” staying true to classic traditions. Many also know Vinnie’s for the pizzerias often comical and artistic specials board with famous or noteworthy caricatures and cleverly named featured menu items. Recently the board featured actor Jeff Goldblum with the Jeff GoldSHROOM with Portobello mushrooms, fresh mozzarella, sun-dried tomato and a creamy pesto sauce. Vinnie’s also paid tribute to the game Operation featuring the Elbow Macaroni pasta on a white pie with ground beef, jalapeno, cheddar, provolone and hot sauce and the soy Sweet + Sour Spare Rib with pineapple, soy mozzarella, cheddar and fresh parsley.

Aldo’s Pizza Pies

Aldo’s is building quite the reputation for its creative New York-style pizzas in Memphis. The pizzeria rolls out pizza specials each week like The Killing Joke (a mushroom cream base, bacon, grilled chicken, goat cheese, mushrooms and arugula) and the Bukowski’s (red sauce, mozzarella, feta, grilled chicken, spinach, roasted red pepper and cracked black pepper). Its specialty pizza menu features a dozen pizzas. The Lombardi is topped with tomato sauce, meatballs and ricotta ($23 for an 18-inch). The Memphis is topped with pulled pork, BBQ sauce, mozzarella, red onion and cole slaw ($22 for an 18-inch).

The Masonry

Opened last August, The Masonry keeps its menu simple with wood-fired pizza and few specialty salads, starters and entrées. Its beer list, however, is wide and eclectic. The small pizzeria has only a large communal table and a sprinkling of four-top tables and nearly a dozen seats at its bar. The Masonry features just six pies on its menu with an influx of specialty creations like the Beet Green Pesto Pizza with prosciutto, roasted red pepper and fontina. In a Facebook post, The Masonry wrote that the pizza with its earthy and citrus flavors, pairs well with an imperial IPA.